Will Blue Jays regret signing Jeff Hoffman to 3-year $33 million deal?
Prior to signing with Blue Jays, Jeff Hoffman failed two physicals with Orioles and Braves, raising concern for 2025 performance.
Follow Us
Jeff Hoffman [Image Credit: The New York Times]
Last Friday, pitcher Jeff Hoffman ended up signing a 3-year $33 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays with added incentives bringing it up to $39 million as per MLB insider Jon Heyman. However, his injury concerns question the pitcher’s ability in the 2025 season.
Prior to signing with the Blue Jays, he also received offers from the Baltimore Orioles and the Atlanta Braves. Hoffman had the chance to play in their starting rotation but he failed his physicals twice.
The Orioles offered him a 3-year $40 million deal, while the Braves offered a 5-year deal between $45 million to $48 million. Unfortunately, he failed to pass his physical tests with both teams raising concerns for the 2025 performance.
While the details of his examination are not revealed, the 32-year-old pitcher has been dealing with a shoulder injury. Before that, he came out of Tommy John surgery with the Blue Jays and returned to the MLB spotlight last year with the Philadelphia Phillies.
"They're already thinking about him as their closer for next year."@ShiDavidi joins #MLBTonight to talk about Toronto's signing of Jeff Hoffman and their place in the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes. pic.twitter.com/7DNSfx2Fn7
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 15, 2025
The Toronto Blue Jays drafted him back in 2014 before sending him to the Colorado Rockies where he debuted in 2016. He also played for the Cincinnati Reds and finally ended up with the Phillies last year.
Despite his performance and injury record, the Blue Jays felt comfortable enough to sign him for 3 years. He passed their physicals and according to Shi Davidi “They’re already thinking about him as their closer for next year.”
Jeff Hoffman excited to start anew with Blue Jays
While concerns about his physicals remain, the pitcher is quite excited to start his 2025 season with the Toronto Blue Jays. The team let go of pitcher Jordan Romano to pen Jeff Hoffman for 3 years. Apart from the 32-year-old, the team also added Andres Gimenez as a significant piece to the lineup.
Hoffman’s performance with the Phillies was notable last year but he also fumbled in the playoffs badly. He gave up seven earned runs in 1 ⅓ innings during their match against the NY Mets.
Per a source, Jeff Hoffman had a potential deal that was nixed when he failed a physical with the Braves’ medical staff. Hoffman also reportedly failed a physical with the Orioles before signing with the Blue Jays
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) January 13, 2025
After the deal was announced with the Blue Jays, Hoffman took to Instagram noting Phillies days as “a time that I will never forget.” The organization also welcomed him shortly mentioning how they were glad to have him in the bullpen and that he will get the opportunity to close games for the team this season.
Stay Updated!
Kaushani Chatterjee
(2140 Articles Published)